Skip to main content

Home/ Vitamin D/ Group items tagged Medscape

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Matti Narkia

The Vitamin D-Antimicrobial Peptide Pathway and Its Role in Protection Against Infectio... - 0 views

  •  
    The vitamin D-antimicrobial peptide pathway and its role in protection against infection. Gombart AF. Future Microbiol. 2009 Nov;4:1151-65. PMID: 19895218 Vitamin D deficiency has been correlated with increased rates of infection. Since the early 19th century, both environmental (i.e., sunlight) and dietary sources (cod liver) of vitamin D have been identified as treatments for TB. The recent discovery that vitamin D induces antimicrobial peptide gene expression explains, in part, the 'antibiotic' effect of vitamin D and has greatly renewed interest in the ability of vitamin D to improve immune function. Subsequent work indicates that this regulation is biologically important for the response of the innate immune system to wounds and infection and that deficiency may lead to suboptimal responses toward bacterial and viral infections. The regulation of the cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide gene is a human/primate-specific adaptation and is not conserved in other mammals. The capacity of the vitamin D receptor to act as a high-affinity receptor for vitamin D and a low-affinity receptor for secondary bile acids and potentially other novel nutritional compounds suggests that the evolutionary selection to place the cathelicidin gene under control of the vitamin D receptor allows for its regulation under both endocrine and xenobiotic response systems. Future studies in both humans and humanized mouse models will elucidate the importance of this regulation and lead to the development of potential therapeutic applications
Matti Narkia

Mean Serum 25(OH)D Levels Decreasing in All Categories of the US Population - 0 views

  •  
    March 27, 2009 - A significant decrease in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels has led to an increase in vitamin D insufficiency in the US population, especially in racial and ethnic groups, according to results of a population-based study reported in the March 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with increases in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infection," write Adit A. Ginde, MD, from the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, and colleagues. "Vitamin D supplementation appears to mitigate the incidence and adverse outcomes of these diseases and may reduce all-cause mortality." [...] "These findings have important implications for health disparities and public health," the study authors conclude. "Our data provide additional evidence that current recommendations for vitamin D supplementation (200-600 IU/d) are inadequate to achieve optimal serum 25(OH)D levels in most of the US population." They add that large, randomized controlled trials of higher doses of vitamin D supplementation are needed to evaluate their effect on general health and mortality.
Matti Narkia

Aggressive Vitamin D Treatment for Osteoporosis - 0 views

  •  
    "May 19, 2008 (Orlando, Florida) - A new study shows that a proactive vitamin D treatment plan should be considered when caring for all osteoporosis patients, and that such treatment might help decrease the likelihood of developing vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is widespread among patients being treated for osteoporosis, and such deficiency should be treated aggressively, according to the findings presented here at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 17th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress."
1 - 4 of 4
Showing 20 items per page